Cal Poly men’s basketball ends Big West run, women win on buzzer beater
After upsetting Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday in a big confidence boost, Cal Poly men’s basketball team (4-20) followed up with a hard-fought 58-51 loss to UC Irvine (17-8) on Thursday.
Showing hints at a bright future that didn’t reflect their last place regular season Big West record, the Mustangs fought back from a 31-9 UC Irvine lead early in the game to cut the game to within a single possession in the second half, 45-42, after sophomore guard Colby Rogers sank two free throws with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Showing signs of a brighter future that featured a mostly young squad this year, the Mustangs largely locked down the Anteaters’ offense, forcing 14 Anteater turnovers.
But unlike Tuesday’s upset 87-82 win against Cal State Fullerton, in which Cal Poly shot 67% from the 3-point line and over 57% from the floor, the Mustangs had a harder time finding the bucket Thursday, only knocking down on 31% of their shots from the floor.
Cal Poly was led in scoring by sophomore forward Alimamy Koroma’s 17 points and seven rebounds. And Rogers added 12 points, on 2-of-12 shooting, while hitting seven of eight from the free throw line.
UC Irvine’s 6-foot-11 center Brad Greene, the Big West Defensive player of the year, was a stopper on defense for the Mustangs, recording 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.
The Mustangs was down 48-44 with 6:12 left, and stayed within range the rest of the way, but couldn’t find the answer against a stifling Anteaters defense.
“We were not going to sit down,” said Koroma in a postgame Zoom conference. “The way the first half started, we weren’t going to let that happen again (in the second half). We were going to competitors and not going to go out like that. We were going to represent Cal Poly basketball until the end....We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I’m proud of everyone in that locker room.”
Koroma, a 6-8 forward who earned All-Big West honorable mention, said “it’s back to the lab at a team.”
“We’re not going to surprise anyone next year,” Koroma said. “We’re going to be better.”
Cal Poly’s leading scorer last season, Junior Ballard, transferred to Fresno State before the start of the season and the Mustangs had to rely on a less experienced players.
Coach John Smith urged consistency on the defense end, which Cal Poly demonstrated on Thursday night.
“The main message was to keep chipping away, keep chipping away,” Smith said. “...People look at our record and see that we have 20 losses. We don’t have 20 losses. We have 20 learning lessons. It’s going to springboard us to where we’re going to go as a program...I look forward to seeing that come to fruition in the next few years.”
Cal Poly women win in nail-biter against Long Beach
Cal Poly women’s basketball team won in dramatic fashion on Tuesday with a last second buzzer-beater from redshirt sophomore guard Maddie Willett, winning 61-60 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
The Mustangs (13-10) topped Long Beach State (12-9) for the second time this season on a game-winner, getting a clutch 3-pointer from star guard Abbey Ellis on Feb. 20 to tally a 45-42 victory.
On Wednesday night, the Mustangs got a huge shot from Willett, Cal Poly’s third-leading scorer with 7.7 points per game, who hoisted up a left-hand turnaround with less than a second left.
The shot banked in after it rolled around the rim and ultimately settled into the net for the Mustangs.
Cal Poly’s Sierra Campisano, the Mustangs’ notched 30 points to go along with 12 rebounds, draining all seven of her free throw attempts.
Ellis added 12 points for the Mustangs, in addition to 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Mustang women enter Friday’s conference semifinal matchup with UC Irvine on the same court at 3 p.m.
The game will be live-streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app for subscribers, as well as broadcast on ESPN 1280 AM and 101.7 FM The Ticket locally.
For game stats and additional team info, go to https://gopoly.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Cal Poly men’s basketball ends Big West run, women win on buzzer beater."
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